"Oh, so will you promise to help me find Sister An Jie?" On the screen, the silver-haired girl's face immediately lit up with a sweet smile, her bright black eyes full of expectation.
Bai Hao didn't agree right away. He paused for a few seconds, seeming thoughtful. "Agreeing isn't impossible, but I know absolutely nothing about An Jie. Also, I can't immediately take you to find her."
Bai Hao's mind was relatively calm now. He truly knew nothing about An Jie; finding her would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Additionally, from his conversation with the silver-haired girl, he could already deduce that she wasn't just a simple virtual character generated by the key card. She was a special entity that had developed thought patterns similar to a human's. If he promised too readily and then failed to fulfill it, given her capabilities, she might cause some outrageous trouble. That would be a case of the gain not being worth the loss. So, he had to clarify some things first before making a choice.
Hearing Bai Hao's words, the silver-haired girl clearly looked more disappointed. Pouting, she said, "I don't know much about Sister An Jie's information either. I only know she's with the Third Military District. Have you heard of the Third Military District?"
"The Third Military District?" Bai Hao's expression changed slightly, a shock running through him. He did have some understanding of the military districts. Currently, the Star Luo Empire mainly had seven major military districts: the First, Second... Sixth, and Seventh Military Districts. The First Military District was the Central District, primarily responsible for the security of the Empire's Central Star Cluster. The Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Military Districts corresponded to the Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern Sectors respectively. The one responsible for the Western Sector's security was the Third Military District. The Sixth and Seventh Military Districts were the Delta District and the Eastern Sector Frontline District. Among them, the two most powerful districts were the First Military District in the Central Sector and the Seventh Military District on the Eastern Sector frontlines, followed by the four major districts of the East, West, South, and North, with the Delta District being the weakest.
"Yes, the Third Military District," the silver-haired girl confirmed firmly.
Bai Hao took a light breath. "I have heard of the Third Military District, but I'm not a soldier. I can't enter the Third Military District, let alone go in to help you find An Jie. However, if I get the chance, I'm willing to make some inquiries for you."
The silver-haired girl was initially disappointed, but upon hearing Bai Hao's latter statement, she seemed to find a glimmer of hope. "Thank you, big brother."
Bai Hao could only offer a somewhat helpless smile.
On the screen, the silver-haired girl's adorable face showed a trace of unconcealable sorrow, as if she was worried about the Sister An Jie she had just mentioned.
For a moment, the mecha cockpit became extremely quiet.
After nearly a minute of silence, the silver-haired girl on the screen shifted her gaze back to Bai Hao. After studying him for a few seconds, she said pitifully, "Since Sister An Jie gave me to you, big brother must be a good person. So, you must promise Nana's request, okay? Please do your best to help me find Sister An Jie in the future."
Bai Hao scratched his head. The silver-haired girl's childishly cute, pleading expression made it hard for him to refuse. In the end, he could only nod helplessly. With a hint of curiosity, he asked, "Your name is Nana?"
"Yes, my previous designation was BS9. Nana is the name Sister An Jie gave me." The silver-haired girl nodded obediently.
"Oh, then I'll call you Nana too. Next, why don't you properly introduce yourself?" Bai Hao said calmly.
...
Half an hour later, Bai Hao slowly stepped out of the mecha cockpit. Through Nana's self-introduction, he had gained a basic understanding of the silver key card. In simple terms, it was a smart mechanical control key. However, it seemed to transcend the category of a mere mechanical device because Nana already possessed independent thought patterns similar to a human's, though her current intellectual level was only equivalent to that of an eleven or twelve-year-old. Bai Hao was curious: would Nana's intelligence level gradually grow over time?
Arriving at the rest room on the second floor, Bai Hao quickly washed up and then lay down on the single bed to sleep.
For the next two days at work, Bai Hao was constantly on edge. After all, he had used the silver key card to activate the mecha still under development in the center of the hall. Even though Nana had cleaned up any traces, he was still very uneasy. If any problem was discovered, he would likely be directly implicated.
On the third day, Bai Hao followed his mentor into the mecha cockpit for another debugging session. Huang Shujian didn't seem to show any signs of abnormality, which allowed Bai Hao to breathe a sigh of relief.
In the afternoon, after finishing work, Bai Hao headed to the combat simulation room alone. However, when starting the simulation machine, he didn't use the simulation key card provided by the service counter. Instead, he directly inserted the silver key card from his card holder into the slot.
Soon, a scene similar to the mecha cockpit reappeared. The silver key card quickly cracked the simulation machine's authentication system.
Nana appeared on the screen again, her cute face showing a trace of surprise. Her large eyes blinked as she looked at Bai Hao and asked, "What kind of system is this? It seems much simpler than a mecha system."
Bai Hao smiled. "This is a combat simulation system. It can't compare to a real mecha system. I brought you here to test your piloting skills."
Actually, he had this idea before. Although Nana claimed she could pilot mechas, if she only knew simple maneuvers like flying, then her so-called piloting functions would be negligible. After all, the ultimate purpose of mechas, warships, carriers, etc., was for warfare.
"Okay, big brother," Nana replied with a smile.
Bai Hao nodded, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. "Then let's start from D-tier, 1D segment."
"Acknowledged."
On the screen, Nana's figure flashed and disappeared, replaced by the segment challenge interface. Bai Hao didn't need to lift a finger or issue any commands. Dialog boxes on the screen began popping up rapidly, one after another.
Moments later, the 1D segment challenge began.
Three seconds later, the enemy mecha was destroyed. Challenge successful.
Bai Hao was slightly stunned. It seemed Nana's piloting skills were quite high. But clearing the 1D segment in three seconds wasn't particularly difficult; at his current level, he could barely manage it too. "Next, challenge the 1C segment directly."
"Yes," Nana's silvery voice immediately sounded in the simulation pod.
Soon, the 1C segment challenge began.
Five seconds later, the enemy mecha was destroyed again at an incomprehensible speed.
Bai Hao was immediately shocked. The 1C segment was a full tier higher than 1D. Even with his current skill, it would take him several minutes to clear it. Nana had managed it in just five seconds. This was truly astonishing to him. Her piloting level was probably much higher than he had anticipated.